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March 18, 2001 -- Dominican slugger, Sammy Sosa signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs that will extends his contract four more years and is worth $72 million. The deal which runs through 2005 will most likely keep Sosa a Cub for the remainder of his career. "I'm very happy. I always said I wanted to finish my career here and Chicago has been great to me,'' Sosa said, surrounded by his family at a news conference at the Cubs' spring training camp in Mesa, Ariz. "When I retire, I'm going to retire with a Chicago Cubs hat to the Hall of Fame.'' If Sosa puts up big numbers, he would get $32.75 million over two years and have the chance to negotiate a new contract again. His deal includes a $6 million signing bonus, $12 million in 2002 and $13 million in 2003. He can either terminate the contract after that season and become a free agent, or exercise player options for $16 million in 2004 and $17 million in 2005. Sosa also gets a $3.5 million severance payment when the contract ends, but that figure is cut in half if he leaves after the 2003 season. If he exercises the player options, the Cubs get an $18 million team option for 2005 with a $4.5 million buyout. With an average salary of $18 million a year, Sosa will have the fourth-highest average salary in baseball, trailing only Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million), Manny Ramirez ($20 million) However, because none of Sosa's money is deferred, taking discounting into account, he'll have the second-most lucrative average salary. ``When the player really wants to stay and the club wants him, you find a way to work it out,'' said Andy MacPhail, the Cubs president and general manager, who negotiated the contract with agents Tom Reich and Adam Katz. "Absent A-Rod, on an average annual value basis, this is the second-highest contract in baseball, as it should be, based on what Sammy's been able to achieve over his career.'' Over the past three years, Sosa has hit 179 homers, batted .305 and averaged 146 RBIs. His 50 homers last season led the majors, and he joined McGwire and Babe Ruth as the only players with more than two 50-homer seasons.
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